1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an inclined engagement prevention structure for a connector, and more specifically to a structure of a connector by which it is possible to prevent two male and female connectors from being engaged with each other under an inclined condition, without interference of male terminals arranged within a female connector housing with a male connector housing.
2. Description of the Related Art
An example of prior art connectors is disclosed in Japanese Published Unexamined (Kokai) Utility Model Application No. 60-42282, for instance. In this connector, the connector is composed of a female connector and a male connector. The female connector includes a female connector housing formed with a fitting chamber in which a plurality of male tab terminals are arranged. The male connector includes a male connector housing in which a plurality of female terminals mated with the male terminals of the female connector are arranged. In more detail, in the female connector housing, a pair of inner guide projections are formed within the female connector housing so as to extend in the connector mating direction. Further, an engage hole is formed in the female connector housing. On the other hand, in the male connector housing, an outer guide groove is formed on the outer surface of the male connector housing so as to be mated with the inner guide projections of the female connector housing. Further, an outer lock arm is formed in the outer guide groove, and an engage projection is formed on this outer lock arm. Therefore, when the male and female connector housings are both mated with each other, the two inner guide projections of the female connector housing are engaged with the outer guide groove of the male connector housing in such a way that the outer lock arm is guided along between the two inner guide projections until an engage projection of the lock arm of the male connector housing is engaged with an engage hole formed in the female connector housing.
In the above-mentioned connector as described above, however, when the male connector housing is mated with the female connector housing under an inclined condition, since the ends of the male terminals arranged within the female connector housing are interfered with the end surface of the male connector housing, there exists a problem in that the male terminals of the female connector are deformed. The above-mentioned problem may be overcome by increasing the length of the female connector housing in the mating direction. In this case, however, another problem may arise in that the size of the female connector housing is inevitably increased.